GUIDANCE DOCUMENT GD 03 JULY 2012

RAINWATER DRAINAGE DESIGN BS EN12056:3-2000

INTRODUCTION
The approved method for calculating the sizing of guttering and downpipes is BS EN12056:3-
2000, which replaced BS 6367 in 2000. It is a pan-European standard however, as a
considerable amount of the UK design detail is actually in the National Annexes at the rear of
the Standard, the document must be navigated with care.

The primary considerations when specifying rainwater goods are rainfall intensity, catchment
area, gutter capacity and outlet/downpipe capacity.

RAINFALL INTENSITY
Rainfall intensity was previously measured in millimetres per hour in the United Kingdom but
was brought into line with mainland Europe in 2000 and is now measured in litres per second
per square metre. For example, a value of 150mm/hour is replaced by 0.042 l/(s.m2).

Damage caused by inadequate roof drainage

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Rainfall is presented on meteorological maps which show the intensity of rainfall likely to fall
in a two-minute storm for a given return period. This is a very short duration event, and will
typically occur in early and late summer, usually on a warm day. The highest level of rainfall
is in areas usually associated with dry weather; and so east Anglia and the south east of
England have a design rainfall level over twice that of some parts of Scotland. For example,
the normal criteria for external eaves gutters is a one-year event which would vary from 0.022
l/(s.m2) in London to 0.01 l/(s.m2) in Fort William.

EAVES GUTTERS
Eaves gutters are relatively simple as they can be allowed to overflow in extreme
circumstances; however, gutters that discharge inside are a much greater risk, and are treated
differently. There are a number of factors to be taken into account before proceeding with
gutter sizing:
Position
Is the gutter fully external or could it overflow somewhere where it could damage the building
or cause nuisance?
Building life
If the gutter is not external, and a building life is not specified, assume 60 years for a
standard building and longer for important public buildings.
Building use
Internal gutters, which will include some eaves gutters with enclosed fascia soffit details
must be factored upwards which means a given life of 60 years will be multiplied as follows:
Category 2: normal building use
1.5 × 60 = 90 years
Category 3: sensitive building use (for example, hospitals, computer rooms)
4.5 × 60 = 270 years

Consult the meteorological map that best reflects the figure obtained, look at the site location
and you will get the rainfall intensity for the project.

All the data for rainfall design in the UK is in the National Annex NB starting on page 51.

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GUIDANCE DOCUMENT GD 03 JULY 2012

CATCHMENT AREA
Catchment area is often misinterpreted in roof drainage calculations. Rainfall does not always
fall vertically and to account for this, the British Standard assumes the angle to be two units
vertical to one unit horizontal (i.e. 65 degrees).

To allow for this, the designer must take half the vertical area of the roof into account to give
an ‘Effective Roof Area’.

Furthermore, an often neglected factor is run off from vertical surfaces, for example where a
small lean-to type office building abuts a factory there will be significant run off from vertical
surfaces. The factor for vertical surfaces is 50 percent of the area and this must be added to
the effective roof area before proceeding.

Again, details of catchment area calculations are in the National Annex, NC, starting on page
63.

GUTTER CAPACITY
BS EN12056-3:2000 allows for two types of flow in gutters:
• Free flow
• Restricted flow

In free flow, the capacity of the outlet is greater than that of the gutters and therefore the gutter
runs freely. However, most industrial gutters are sized for pedestrian access, and so are
hydraulically bigger than they need to be. They would therefore need large outlets to make
them run free. By using smaller outlets, water fills the gutter more uniformly and thus although
outlet flow improves, gutter flow is restricted. Provided the restricted gutter capacity is larger
than the flow coming into the gutter, this solution is acceptable and can often offer substantial
material savings.

Whichever flow mode is employed, when the gutter length from a stop end to an outlet exceeds
50 times its depth, or the distance between outlets exceeds 100 times the depth, friction will
become a consideration and will have to be included in calculations.

Corners in the gutter will also have an effect of flow, and must be taken into account in the
calculations, however close they are to the outlet.

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Software and expertise are available to assist with these calculations; please contact individual
MGMA members for advice.

OUTLET/DOWNPIPE CAPACITY
The outlet from the gutter will usually have a far lower capacity than that of the rainwater pipe
it connects into. This is because water is unable to effectively turn sharp corners and so at the
outlet, water tends to smooth out the turn and form a narrow neck of flow. Once into the
downpipe, this will to spread out to the inside surface of the pipe and, pulled by gravity, the
water will accelerate away.

If the outlet has rounded shoulders or tapers from a larger diameter, this can improve capacity
considerably. Hoppers and sumps can be introduced to create a greater depth of water to
improve the performance of a system where the designer is restricted in choice.

There are some situations to be avoided or at least to be aware of:

• Back or side outlets perform badly and are not recommended by the Standard. There
are fabrication methods that can create a more efficient back outlet if it really cannot
be avoided.
• There is a 50 percent reduction in outlet capacity where a leaf guard is fitted. This is to
take into account the fact that most leaf guards quickly attract a waterproof covering of
leaves.
• If the percentage of water in downpipes becomes too great, there is a risk that siphonic
action will occur. In the right place, siphonic action can be very useful; allowing huge
volumes of water to be moved by relatively small pipes. However, in areas where
siphonic action is not expected it can cause a number of problems, for example
excessive vibration and pipe wear, noise and pipe implosions.

To avoid these risks filling limits in pipes have been set as shown in the table overleaf.

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Pipe diameter (mm) Maximum flow (l/s)

50 1.7
63 3.1
75 5.0
100 10.7
150 31.6
200 68.0

Correct design to BS EN12056-3:2000, in conjunction with adequate maintenance will ensure

the roof drainage system does not cause any problems during the life of the building. MGMA
members can advise on design to BS EN12056-3:2000; some offer a free design service for
their products

Even good designs will fail if not maintained

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MGMA DISCLAIMER

Whilst the information contained in this bulletin is believed to be correct at the time of publication, the Metal Gutter
Manufacturers Association Limited and its member companies cannot be held responsible for any errors or
inaccuracies and, in particular, the specification for any application must be checked with the individual
manufacturer concerned for a given installation.

Information provided by the MGMA or contained within publications and articles which are made available in any
form (mechanical, electronic, photocopying or otherwise) cannot be used or cited as a means of ensuring that a
material, product, system or assembly is compliant with Building Regulations.

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01633 891584 mgmagutters@gmail.com www.mgma.co.uk

© MGMA Page 6 of 6 First published as Information Data Sheet No 3 July 2012

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